


To Feel Loved

by De_Marvel_Bunny



Series: Tony Stark & Co. [13]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Tony Stark, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Relationships, Happy Ending, Hurt Steve Rogers, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) Lives, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Pre-Slash, Protective Avengers, Protective Steve Rogers, Tony Angst, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Angst, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Has Self-Esteem Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 08:55:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21072260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/De_Marvel_Bunny/pseuds/De_Marvel_Bunny
Summary: Tony has a low sense of self-worth and no matter what his teammates say, he is sure that he is not worth it. He gets hit on a mission, doesn't alert the others and lets them see just how low his self-esteem gets.OR,Tony's in a coma, Steve finds out he loves him and there's some stuff happening in-between. Also, I'm running out of summaries.





	To Feel Loved

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kcusllay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcusllay/gifts), [The_Sad_Fangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sad_Fangirl/gifts).

> So I saw this video on YouTube about a girl who was in a coma but could hear what was going on around her. So I stole that idea :)

After living and working with each other for so long, it was no secret to any of the Avengers that Tony Stark had a low sense of self-worth. He was always down in that workshop of his, forgetting to eat, sleep, and take proper care of himself. The team helped him with those things whenever they could, reminding their teammate that he was loved, even if he didn't upgrade all their gear every other day. But what happened on one particular day was a new level of low, even for Tony Stark.

"Sir, you are taking too much damage," JARVIS warned his creator softly but sternly. "I suggest taking cover for a moment as I assess the damage."

"No, J," Tony said stubbornly. "We have a protocol for this, remember? Stick to it."

He flew low, blasting a few of the weird alien things to pieces. His HUD flashed red, warning him of an incoming projectile. He turned, trying to blow it up before it could hit anything. It didn't budge, however, flying straight for its target.

"Shit," he cursed, speeding off to try to dodge it. The missile-like weapon followed suit, gaining on him quickly. Tony moved skillfully around buildings and obstacles, hoping the projectile would crash into something. To his credit, it did, it just didn't have the desired effect.

_"Iron Man, are you okay?"_ Grunted Cap over the comms. Tony hovered in the air, looking at the place the missile had hit a building.

"Yeah, Cap. Peachy keen- _Shit_!" He yelled, trying to fly off again to dodge the missile flying at top speed in his direction. He wasn't quite fast enough, however, and the missile hit him head-on on his chest.

Steve looked up at the yelled curse to find Iron Man, alarmed at the pure panic in his voice. He spotted him just in time to see the missile that had been chasing him collide with him way up in the air.

"Tony!" He yelled, watching in horror and Tony was flung backwards into another building before beginning his descent down. "Tony, answer me!" He tried again, fear creeping into his bones. He heard his other teammates yell out, too, but none of them got a response. Tony was close to hitting the ground. Hulk roared in the distance, Thor's lightning sounding too far away. They weren't going to make it. Tony was going to crash-

Suddenly, Tony seemed to catch himself, already flying off and back into battle. Steve raised an eyebrow at the sight.

"Iron Man, report," he called. No response. "Iron Man, what's your status?" Silence met him on the other end. Steve sighed, going back to beating up aliens, his mind still on his teammate. Tony was known for his antics, but he never left a near-death experience without assuring the others that he was fine (even when he was usually not). Getting no response was uncharacteristic, especially for someone like Tony Stark, who rarely seemed to stay silent long enough to come up for air.

It wasn't much longer before the battle was over. Steve had kept an eye out for the armored avenger, noticing his movements were a bit too mechanic. The team met up like they always did, checking up on each other before they would get on the jet and fly home and tend to their wounds. Iron Man touched down with them, but didn't move in closer.

"Tony, you took a pretty nasty hit there," Steve started, deciding to drop the Captain America voice for now and speak with concern instead. "Are you okay?"

Tony stood still, which was again uncharacteristic for him, and didn't answer. Steve was about to ask again, annoyance rising in his chest. He stopped himself when the suit opened up.

And Tony straight up tumbled out of it. Everyone stood dumbly frozen as Tony collapsed in a heap on the concrete.

"Friend Stark," Thor boomed, kneeling by his side. "Are thee alright?"

Tony lay still, unresponsive. Hulk shrank down in record time and a half-naked Bruce Banner looked at his friend in horror.

"He's not breathing!" He called frantically. Immediately, everyone jumped into action. Steve rushed forward, turning the genius on his back while Nat cradled his head. The man's eyes were closed, his face bruised and bloodied. He remained limp in their hold, his chest moving just the slightest bit. Clint was already calling the paramedics over, screaming about an emergency. Thor stood by, looking horrified.

"He's breathing. Just barely, though," Steve reported, voice calm even though he was panicking inside. Paramedics rushed over to them, a stretcher in between them. Steve waved their hands and stretcher away, picking his teammate up with ease and rushing over to the quinjet. It was faster than the ambulance could get him to the hospital on these broken streets. Clint immediately got the memo, rushing ahead to start the jet. The rest of the team followed quickly, Bruce using his basic medical skills he'd learned exactly for situations like these to hook Tony up to some equipment, having JARVIS monitor his vitals.

Within no time they were at the Tower. Steve simply picked up his friend once again, quickly carrying him inside and to the med bay. The doctors didn't ask any questions, quickly getting everything ready. The Avengers were ushered out and the doors closed in front of them.

* * *

That had been two weeks ago. Two weeks of tension, concern, and fear. Because in those two weeks, Tony had been staying in that same med bay, hooked up to several machines as doctors fussed over him. And in those same two weeks, he had not once opened his eyes. He had not once twisted in his sleep like he always did, not once woken up to demand coffee. For two weeks, Tony Stark had been silent and unmoving, dwarfed by the big hospital bed.

The Avengers took turns watching over him, making sure he was never alone. They rarely spoke, and if they did it was to relay information. There was no small talk, no dry humor... Clint didn't even go into the vents anymore.

They'd found out what happened during the battle through JARVIS, who told them it was a protocol Tony had put in place. Whenever he was incapacitated, JARVIS took control of the suit until the battle was over. Apparently, Tony didn't deem himself important enough to get medical attention while he was needed. Tony had been unconscious inside the suit ever since that missile hit, leaving him with severe damage to his artificial sternum and forced into a coma. They were waiting for him to wake up, but it was taking longer than anticipated, only raising their worries.

Steve talked to him every day. He sat by his bed, holding his smaller, calloused hand in his own and simply talked to him about his day, what the Avengers had been up to, some people he'd bumped into on the streets, some fanmail they'd gotten. He also told him they were worried about him. Not just the team, but his fans, too. People on social media had been asking about him and his lack of appearances. Following standard procedure, the Avengers had been forced to attend a press conference post-battle. They simply stated that Tony Stark had been hit during the mission, and would be incapacitated for an unknown amount of time.

"But most of all, Tony," Steve said softly, swallowing dryly. "_I'm_ worried. I miss you, Tony. I didn't think I'd ever say it, but I miss your stupid comments and snarky remarks. I miss you driving me up the wall, I miss you stealing all the coffee and waking me up at ungodly hours because you'd stumbled into the wrong room. But mostly, Tony, I miss you because you just make everything so much better and so much more bearable. Whenever I'm irritated or stressed, you're always there, making another stupid joke but somehow managing to make me laugh. I miss the sparkle in your eyes whenever you give me one of your blinding, genuine smiles. And, I never told you this, but I really like being around you. I like... _you_," he whispered, realization dawning on him. He laughed softly at the realization.

"Tony, I _like_ you! I'm- I'm in love with you!" He exclaimed, happiness filling his insides. Not only did it explain a lot (like why Tony seemed to somehow be in all his dreams lately), but it also made him realize that he'd finally done it. He'd settled down in this new world, finally letting go of the past and living in the present instead. Building his own life.

He looked back down at the pale figure on the bed with teary eyes, his vision slightly blurred. He leaned in to cradle Tony's cheek, a tear rolling down his own. The happiness settled in his bones, but it also made space for sorrow as he realized it might be too late. He might have missed his shot, realized it too late. Tony might not wake up, and he-

He snapped himself out of his thoughts as the irritating beeping of the heart monitor suddenly changed its two week-long pace, speeding up slightly. He blinked the tears out of his eyes, looking at the equipment in confusion. His eyes snapped back down to Tony, however, when he heard the man groan softly, his head moving to the side and into Steve's hold as the blonde hadn't retracted his hand yet.

"T-Tony?" He stuttered hopefully. With seemingly a lot of effort, Tony blinked his heavy eyes open, his glazed orbs landing on Steve. He looked like he wanted to say something, but the tube in his throat blocked the words. Tony tried to cough, choking on the tube. Steve slammed on the button to call one of the doctors, his hands hovering over Tony's form, at a total loss of what to do. The doctors quickly rushed in, skillfully removing the tube. Their words were white noise as Steve stared at Tony, who looked past all the doctors and straight at him. Steve felt warmth flood his chest at the sight of those beautiful and intelligent brown eyes he hadn't seen for two weeks. They were even more beautiful than he remembered.

"Ste... Steve," Tony called hoarsely, coughing weakly. One of the doctors helped him up a bit, pushing a straw between his lips. He gratefully sipped the water cooling his dried throat.

"You can come closer," one of the nurses called, waving Steve over. Steve hesitantly approached the bed, dropping in the chair he'd occupied for two weeks. He stimply stared at Tony as Tony stared back. The doctors talked amongst themselves, asking Tony a few questions. Once they seemed satisfied, they left the room to give the two some privacy. Steve avoided Tony's gaze as he fiddled with his hands.

"I heard you," Tony whispered, his voice still weak from disuse. "What you said. I- I heard it."

"How much?" Steve whispered back, afraid he'd shatter the precious atmosphere by speaking up.

"Everything," Tony answered, his eyes locked on Steve's. "I heard everything, Steve. For two weeks, I heard you all come and go. I enjoyed your visits the most," he added hesitantly, looking almost shy. "You talked to me. I liked that."

Steve gaped back at him, not knowing what to say.

"I- I don't- how-" he stuttered, at a loss of words.

"For the record," Tony coughed. "I like you too, I think."

"You- you do? Wait- you _think_?"

Tony gave a small laugh which desolved into a coughing fit. Steve helped him to some water, and Tony's eyes were laughing when he looked at him.

"I always liked you. Adored you, even. Until I realized you were ruining my life, of course," he added offhandedly. "But once I got to know you... Yeah, I like you."

"Good," Steve said dumbly, feeling the urge to fidget with his hands again under Tony's intense gaze.

"Steve," the genius called softly.

"Yeah?" Steve said immediatly, an octive too high. He cleared his throat, his cheeks burning like he was a teenager with a crush. "Y-yeah, Tony?" Tony smiled warmly.

"This is where you kiss me," he whispered. Steve lost all his words as he got lost in Tony's warm gaze, leaning forward until his lips were inches from Tony's. Tony looked at him expecantly, but Steve could see the exact emotion Steve was feeling in those big, brown eyes. Tony was as smitten as he was. With newfound confidence, he closed the distance between them. The kiss was soft and sweet and unlike anything Steve had experienced before. The kiss seemed to last for hours but was over too soon as they broke apart for air. 

"Tony," Steve said, his face still close to Tony's.

"Yes, Steve?" Tony answered softly, slightly out of breath.

"Don't ever scare me like that again, okay? You are worth more to me than anything else in this world, you understand? Don't sell yourself short."

Steve turned his head slightly to look Tony in the eyes. Tony's expression was open and honest when he anwered.

"Okay."

And for the first time, Tony might actually believe it. For the first time, Tony didn't feel so worthless.

For the first time, Tony Stark felt loved.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos make me a happy fangirl :p


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